Bracket for electric lamps



May 17, 1938. H. w. HAPMAN BRACKET FOR ELECTRIC LAMPS Filed Nov. 3, 1936Patented May 17, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFiCE 3 Claims.

My invention relates to brackets for electric lamps, and its principalobject is to provide a portable bracket whereby an electric light bulbmay be supported in various ways so as to be susceptible of a number ofdifferent uses.

Another object of my invention is to provide a bracket which is soconstructed that breakage of the bulb due to falling is preventedwithout the use of a wire guard such as is usually employed for thispurpose, such guards being expensive and diiiicult to install, andcasting objectionable shadows.

A further object of my said invention is to provide a bracket of simpleconstruction which may be used in conjunction with any of the commerciallamp sockets such as are sold with connecting cord and plug attachedthereto, so that full advantage may be taken of the low price due toenormous production volume of these units.

With these and other objects in view, a preferred embodiment of myinvention will now be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawing in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved bracketwith bulb, socket, and connecting cord attached thereto.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the bracket with bulb and socket removed.

Figure 3 is a section of the bracket taken on line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a front elevation illustrating the possibility of adjustingmy improved bracket at various angles, and

Figure 5 is a front elevation illustrating the protection from breakageof the bulb which my improved bracket afiords.

Like characters designate corresponding parts throughout the severalviews.

1 is the light bulb and 2 is a standard socket provided with a switchbutton 3 of the usual construction. The bracket, made from sheet metalor other suitable material, consists of an upper circular portion 4 anda relatively narrow lower portion 5 connected by a back portion 6, thelatter being bent outwardly into U-shape, as indicated at I, where itjoins the portion 5. The member 4 is formed with a downwardly projectingstiffening rim 4| and is provided with a central opening 42 adapted tofit snugly around the upper marginal edge 2| of the socket 2, while thelower portion 5 is provided with an opening 52 which receives the lowerextremity 22 of the said socket. Secured to the back portion 6 of thebracket is a pneumatic suction cup 8 having the usual central screw 8|which passes through an opening in the bracket and is secured inposition by the nut 82. 9 is the connecting cord, whichis commonlyfurnished with the socket 2 and carries at its free end a standardconnecting plug (not shown), and in the upper and lower portions 4 and5, respectively, of the bracket I provide openings 43, 53 to receivethis cord which extends outwards through the socket and is bent into aloop, as at 9!, before passing through the said openings. inserted intothe openings 43, 53 without disconnecting it from the plug or thesocket, I provide a slot 44 in the member 4 which connects the opening43 with the central opening 42, and in the member 5 I provide a slot 54which connects the openings 53 and 52 so that the cord may be firstpassed through the central openings and thence into the smaller openingsand the socket then placed in position so as to form a unitary structureas shown in Figure 1. The slots 44, 54 are of a width less than thediameter of the openings 43, 53 and of such dimensions that the cordmust be forced through the slots and will rest loosely in the circularopenings.

In the principal application of my improved bracket, it is securedthrough the cup 8 to any flat surface such as indicated at I0 in Figure1, the U-shaped portion 1 of the bracket serving to steady the lamp byresting lightly upon the supporting surface. This application is ofparticular utility when it is desired to apply the lamp to the surfaceof a mirror, thereby making it possible to obtain a very strongillumination of the face during various toilet operations such asshaving. When supported by this method the lamp may be 5 rotated aboutthe screw 8!, as indicated in the diagram Figure 4, and set at variousangles by which the utility of my device is further enhanced. The lampmay also be suspended from a nail or other projection through the loop9] of the cord. v

The diagram Figure 5 is a front elevation of the lamp with socket andbulb attached, from which it will be seen that when the completestructure rests upon a surface such as indicated at l2, the bulb isprevented from touching the said surface and, since the combined Weightof the bracket and the socket greatly exceeds the weight of the bulb, itwill be seen that the said structure may be dropped from a considerabledistance without breakage of the bulb, so that protection is afforded tothe latter without the use of the wire guards above referred to. Theprovision of the enlarged portion 4 of the bracket is also of greatutility in cases Where the lamp is In order that the cord 9 may be 10'-suspended by the loop 9! of the cord, as in such cases the bulb isprevented from touching the adjacent wall or other surface, causingburning or other damage to the latter.

It will be observed from the foregoing description and by reference tothe drawing that I have provided a device which is eminently adapted forthe purpose set forth and which is simple in construction and economicalto manufacture, and wln'le I have herein shown and described a preferredembodiment of my said invention, it will be readily understood by thoseskilled in the art to which the same relates that various modificationsin detail may be made Without departing from the spirit of the inventionas defined in the appended claims. 7

Having thus described my said invention, what I claim and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination, with alamp socket having a cord attached thereto; of a bracket comprising apair of members arranged in parallel spaced relation and having openingsadapted to engage the large and small ends, respectively, of the socketand having smaller openings adapted to receive the cord, the openings ineach of said members being connected by a slot, and a member arrangedsubstantially at right angles to said members and connecting the same;and a suction cup mounted upon said connecting member.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination, with alamp socket having a cord attached thereto; of a bracket comprising apair of members arranged in parallel spaced relation and having openingsadapted to engage the large and small ends, respectively, of the socketand having smaller openings adapted to receive the cord, the openings ineach of said members being connected by a slot, and a member arrangedsubstantially at right angles to said members and connecting the same; asuction cup mounted upon said connecting member; said connecting memberhaving thereupon an outwardly projecting portion spaced apart from saidsuction cup and terminating substantially in alinement with the outersurface thereof.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination, with alamp socket having a cord attached thereto; of a bracket comprising apair of members arranged in parallel spaced rela tion and havingopenings adapted. to receive the large and small ends, respectively, ofthe socket and having smaller openings adapted to receive the cord, theopenings in each of said members being connected by a slot; and a memberarranged substantially at right angles to said members and connectingthe same; the member engaging the large end being of larger diameterthan the member engaging the small end, and the center of gravity of theapparatus as a whole being positioned intermediate of said respectivemembers, whereby the lamp bulb is prevented from coming in contact witha supporting surface upon which the device rests.

HENRY W. HAPMAN.

